Dr Alexis Nang-beifubah, the Upper West Regional Director of Health Services, has appealed to all non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the health sector to register with the Ghana Health Service to avoid problems. He said the contributions of NGOs in the health sector towards quality health delivery in the region could not be downplayed, maintaining that their activities needed to be coordinated to eliminate over concentration of efforts in some areas at the expense of other equally important ones. Dr Nang-beifubah said this when he was addressing a stakeholders forum organized by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) with sponsorship from UNICEF at Wa on Wednesday. The meeting was to update the stakeholders on the current state of affairs in the health sector and look for effective ways of collaboration among them to improve health delivery. He urged all NGOs who had not yet registered to do so immediately to enable them know their area of specialization. The Regional Health Director also proposed the establishment of a media coordination desk and a traditional African Medicine coordination desk at his office to cross check information before making it available to the media and as well coordinate activities of all herbalists in the region. Dr Kofi Issah, the Deputy Director of Public Health, said 34 people representing 10.6 per cent died out of the 322 cases of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) this year. According to him, the Upper West Region achieved a 100 percent reduction in guinea worm cases from 2009 to date. He said cases involving maternal deaths, HIV, Hepatitis B and high alcohol consumption still remained serious issues of concern in the region. Dr Issah appealed to NGOs to also lend their support to TB control. He revealed that out of 174 people who were tested for the H1N1 influenza, a six-year old boy from Wa East was confirmed to be H1N1 positive last week. Dr Issah said malnutrition was the underlining cause of many diseases and to address that GHS in collaboration with UNICEF were implementing a programme known as the Community Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CBMAM). Source: GNA